Thiruvananthapuram: Ayurveda is making rapid strides across Europe even as it is relatively sidelined in its home country, India according to some experts participating in an Ayurveda conclave in Kerala.

Professor Martin Mittwede, director of the European Academy of Ayurveda at Birstein, Germany said patients in western nations were also becoming aware of the risks of modern medicine and were warming up to Ayurveda for both its medicinal values and its existence as a way of life.

“Ayurveda is slowly developing across Europe. We have about 500 Ayurveda doctors in Germany and roughly 5,000 Ayurveda practitioners involved in associated activities including Ayurveda massage and herb mixing”, professor Mittwede said.

The professor, who also teaches at Frankfurt University, and is in Kerala to attend the platinum jubilee of Thrissur-based Vaidyaratnam Oushadhasala, said Ayurveda was catching up in many European countries including Switzerland and Austria, besides Germany.

“Our Masters courses are attracting students from Sweden, Latvia, Luxembourg, and New Zealand, and the interest is spreading”, said Mittwede.

The professor, who is also a Sanskrit scholar said it was an eye-opener that Indian Sanskrit texts of 2,000 years ago speak of treatments for diseases that we now know as Type-I and Type-II diabetes, and Alzheimer’s.

He said the international interest in Ayurveda could also turn out to be a boost for the age-old medical tradition in India.

Kerala health minister K.K. Shylaja said there was a threat of monopolies controlling the Ayurveda sector, too, and that they could swallow the smaller players. She said Kerala Ayurveda brands ought to stand up to competition and go on to become global brands.

She said initiatives like ayurvedic herb cultivation would also be beneficial in terms of providing employment opportunities to tribal communities.

Medical scientist, B.M. Hegde said Ayurveda should take care “not to become another business”, and that the Ayurveda sector should stick to its core strengths and genuine practices if it is not to be discredited.